


Too Tired to Be Fighting

by lovetheblazer



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Glee Live! In Concert!, M/M, Mentions of Hannah Colfer, Nightmares, crisscolfer, mentions of epilepsy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-08 03:46:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5482187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovetheblazer/pseuds/lovetheblazer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Advent Prompt #20: Bad dreams. Set during the Glee Live tour.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Too Tired to Be Fighting

**Author's Note:**

> Day 20 of the Advent Challenge I'm doing daily through Christmas Eve. Prompts have been anonymously submitted by my followers.

Darren's got his eyes closed and his face tipped towards the window, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face, when he hears Chris drop into the bus seat next to him with a quiet groan. “I didn't think you were going to make it before the bus left, dude,” he says.

“I almost didn't,” Chris admits in gravelly voice. Darren takes off his sunglasses and turns his head away from the window to consider Chris. He looks  _exhausted,_ with dark circles under his eyes, pale skin, wet hair, and a hastily thrown together outfit of a hoodie and sweatpants.

“Rough night?”

“Something like that,” Chris sighs. He doesn't offer up more information than that.

“Did Naya and Kevin talk you into playing beer pong again?” Darren guesses.

“God, no. I mean they tried, but I wasn't really feeling up to being around people last night. I wanted to go to bed early, actually, but then I slept like crap,” Chris mumbles, staring at his hands instead of Darren.

Darren picks up his pillow and relocates it to his lap. “Well, it's going to take almost an hour to get to the venue for this afternoon’s show apparently, so now would be an excellent time to catch up on sleep,” he encourages, patting the pillow in his lap. “C'mon, stretch out.”

“Um.” Chris looks to Darren in surprise and consternation. “I don't know if that's a good idea, Darren.”

“What, sleeping? It's always a good idea, Chris.”

“Is that why you do it so much?” Chris weakly jokes. It's true – the ability to nap absolutely anywhere at any time is one of Darren's greatest superpowers.

“Fuck yeah it is. Seriously, take a nap on me. I don't mind at all,” Darren suggests.

“I don't know how I feel about putting my head in your crotch,” Chris finally admits, blushing.

“Why Christopher, get your mind out of the gutter,” Darren gasps, pretending to be scandalized. “I was just offering to be a friendly nap surface. You know, a little bros helping bros exchange.”

“Sorry, I can't take anyone seriously who uses the word 'bros' as often as you do,” Chris teases, cracking a smile for the first time all morning.

“How rude. Are we not bros, Chris? That's not very bro-like of you,” Darren shoots back, grinning. “But fine, if you're going to be all puritanical about it, I can always relocate the pillow to a less scandalous location,” he adds, moving the pillow to his shoulder. “Now doesn't that look like an inviting nap venue?”

“You aren't going to shut up until I lay on you, are you?” Chris groans.

“You are correct, sir.”

“Fine,” Chris huffs in mock exasperation as he tentatively drops his head to Darren's shoulder.

Darren smiles and tucks Chris in closer to him. “Cozy, isn't it?” he asks smugly.

“Shh, I'm supposed to be sleeping.”

* * *

After Chris falls asleep, Darren joins him for a brief twenty minutes of shut eye. Darren wakes up refreshed and ready to take on the day. Not wanting to disturb Chris when he's clearly exhausted, Darren ends up just taking in the scenery outside and letting his mind wander to the song he's been trying to write on and off all week.

He's halfway through the lyrics for a second verse when his peace is shattered by Chris letting out a blood-curdling shriek. Darren looks down in horror, shocked to see that Chris's eyes are still closed, though he's moving restlessly.

Several cast members on the bus turn around to see what's wrong. Darren's trying to decide if he should wake Chris up or wait to see if he'll settle down again when Chris starts flailing wildly. Darren gets whacked once solidly in the chin before Chris sits up with a start, breathing hard.

“Hey shh, it's okay,” Darren tries to soothe as he reaches for Chris.

Chris's eyes are wild as he looks through Darren instead of at him with an expression of pure terror on his face. He ducks out of Darren's grasp and folds his arms over his knees and buries his face there.

Darren's not sure what to say or do, but sitting there and not at least  _trying_  to help physically pains him. Then, he notices that Chris's shoulders are shaking with quiet sobs and he can't stop himself from reaching out. He settles for resting a hand on Chris's back, right between his shoulder blades. When Chris doesn't attempt to shake off the touch, he starts rubbing in slow, soothing circles. It still doesn't feel like nearly enough.

“Darren?” Lea calls out from a few rows ahead of them on the bus.

“Yeah?”

“...is everything okay back there?” she asks, her voice filled with concern.

“We're fine,” he replies. “Just a little incident with bad dreams. Nothing to worry about,” Darren answers for both of them.

“Are you sure?” Lea checks. “Maybe I should come back there,” she offers, already standing.

Darren feels Chris stiffen underneath his hand and instinctively knows that's the last thing on earth Chris would want at the moment. “No no, I'm positive. Chris is already asleep again, so...” he lies.

“Okay, if you're sure,” she finally agrees and sits back down.

Chris turns his head to the side, exposing his tear-stained face. “Thank you,” he mouths to Darren.

“You're welcome,” Darren whispers. It kills him to not say more, to restrain himself from asking what Chris is so upset about and what he can do to help, but he's learned that sometimes Chris just needs a little time and space before he'll talk about the big stuff. Darren's not exactly sure what's going on, but he suspects there's more to this story. Instead, he settles for reaching over and gently wiping away the tears from Chris's cheek. Chris musters a weak smile at the gesture. It's not much, but it's a start.

* * *

Darren knocks on Chris's hotel room door just after 7 pm, feeling uneasy.

They got back from a matinee performance around 5 pm. Chris was on his phone for the entire ride back, whispering in hushed, serious tones Darren couldn't quite make out. Then, Chris begged off dinner plans with the cast, claiming he was going to eat in the hotel restaurant instead. Darren hung back too, waiting at the hotel restaurant for nearly two hours until it became perfectly clear that Chris wasn't coming. The idea of Chris not eating after a draining performance was reason enough for Darren to order food to-go for two. He just hopes Chris won't kick him out since he has no intention of leaving.

After about a minute, Darren hears someone padding over to the door. He's pretty sure Chris is peering through the peephole at him so he leans in and waves. “Just me,” he calls out.

Chris finally opens the door. He's dressed in pajamas and a cozy fleece jacket. He still looks drained and Darren swears he can make out the tear stains on his cheeks. “What are you doing here?” Chris asks, frowning.

“I didn't want to eat alone. I brought food for two, plus entertainment?” Darren offers up, hoping it'll be enticement enough to gain entrance into Chris's room.

“What kind of food?” Chris inquires warily.

“I wasn't sure what you were in the mood for so I got a little of everything. Pizza, burgers, chicken strips. The restaurant downstairs was all American cuisine, so there weren't that many exciting options, I’m afraid,” Darren replies. “You going to invite me in?”

“Oh sorry. Yeah, come in, I guess?” Chris shrugs.

Darren tries not to be hurt by the obvious reluctance.  _Baby steps._

* * *

“So, do you want to talk about what's bothering you or do you want to watch a movie?” Darren prompts thirty minutes later, after they've mostly polished off the massive amount of food he ordered.

“What do you mean?” Chris snaps. “I'm fine.”

“C'mon Chris, I think I know you better than that. You're not fine,” Darren gently points out. “Screaming like an extra in The Exorcist on the bus this morning was a pretty obvious tell that something's bothering you.”

“It was just a bad dream,” Chris murmurs, refusing to meet Darren's gaze.

Darren takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out, trying not to push too much too soon. Restraint has never been his strong suit. “Okay. Want to talk about the bad dream, then?”

“I don't even remember it,” Chris responds immediately.

Darren shakes his head. “Liar.”

Chris sighs. “I don't.”

“Chris, if you don't want to tell me now, that's fine, but just say so.”

Chris looks at his hands. “I don't want to tell you. Not yet, anyway.”

“Okay,” Darren murmurs. “Movie it is, then. I'm guessing you'd prefer a comedy?”

Chris shrugs. “Look, if you want me to leave, I will,” Darren offers. “I don't think you should be alone right now, but if it's what you want–”

“It's not,” Chris interrupts, finally making eye contact with him. “Stay. Please?”

“You've got it.”

* * *

Chris is the first to fall asleep that night, halfway through the first movie. Darren tugs him down until his head is on the pillow and then curls up beside him, one arm protectively wrapped around his middle.

Neither of them stirs all night long, waking up just after 6 am with the sun to find they've migrated even closer in sleep.

The story tumbles out of Chris in waves with his head still resting on Darren's chest. He talks about his sister, the frustration of her seemingly unending seizures, of the recent hospital stay and new medications that don't seem to be having any beneficial effect. He even tells Darren about the recurrent nightmares he’s been having which center on his terror that his sister is hurt and he can't reach her in time, that he can't make it better because he's too far away. The symbolism seems pretty clear to Darren. 

They don't kiss that morning. They barely even flirt. Darren settles for being Chris's friend in the moment, because he can tell that's what Chris really needs. But a month later, when they finally make good on the chemistry and months of flirtation by kissing for the first time, Darren will admit that the night of their platonic sleepover is the first time he really realized how hard he was falling for Chris.

**Author's Note:**

> [Share fic on Tumblr](http://lovetheblazer.tumblr.com/post/135623460565/too-tired-to-be-fighting)
> 
> Read Previous Advent Fics on: [AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/Advent_Fics_by_lovetheblazer) or [Tumblr](http://lovetheblazer.tumblr.com/tagged/advent-fics-by-lovetheblazer)


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